As shared previously, Satan is a master of deception and half-truths. One method that he can use to cause great confusion for the Christian is misleading us regarding the nature of our flesh (self-life). Every Christian experiences an inner struggle between doing what is right and doing what is wrong. Romans 6:6 implies that our flesh (self-life) was crucified with Jesus on the Cross and put to death, and we were raised up with Jesus with a new, sinless nature. How can the flesh that is supposedly dead cause us so much trouble?
Watchman Nee—in his book, The Normal Christian Life—explained that the Roman government would sometimes punish a murderer by strapping the dead body of his victim to the murderer, face-to-face, and then guard him until the dead body decayed, killing the person. Nee identified this as the dilemma of the Christian. As the apostle Paul laments in Romans 7:24, “ Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?”
It is important to clarify that, by “the flesh”, we are talking about our natural bent toward wrongdoing. Depending on your Bible translation, the flesh is sometimes referred to as: “the old man”, “sinful self”, “sinful nature”, “carnal nature”, and “self-life”. This does not mean that the body itself is inherently evil. Also, the term does not refer to our different gifts, personalities, and temperaments; but that natural inclination toward evil, which every believer experiences.
Our flesh can mess up good things and seeks to legitimize our lives as being justified spiritually by our self-effort. The flesh is part of us until the day we die but is no longer our true identity. We are saints who have the ability to sin. The flesh is the root of all sinful behavior for the Christian. We have Jesus living in us, yet we have a lifeless body—due to indwelling sin—which works against us! Only by abiding in Jesus as our life can there be any hope of subduing the flesh!
Bible verses to read and think about:
A. Read the following verses: Romans 7:7-25. The apostle Paul blames his inability to keep the Ten Commandments on indwelling sin (“the flesh”). Paul explains that, even though he is a new creation in Christ, he still can’t produce a godly life in his own strength—because of indwelling sin in his flesh! Romans 7:25 implies that our only hope for victory is Jesus Christ. Galatians 5:16 tells us that the only hope of controlling our flesh is the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the life of Jesus.
B. The flesh (self) can manifest itself in many ways. From the following verses, the deeds or works of the flesh (self) can include our natural bent toward evil or an attempt to satisfy God by our good deeds. Read Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:3-12, Romans 1:29-32, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, and Philippians 3:3, 7-9. Galatians 5:13 instructs us not to use our freedom in Christ to indulge the sinful passions and desires of our flesh. Galatians 5:1 tells us that we are free in Christ but enjoins us not to go back to a law of self-effort in an attempt to produce a godly life. In 2 Corinthians 12:12, the apostle Paul lived his life by drawing from God’s grace.
C. Read Romans 8:1-4, Romans 3:27, Galatians 5:16-18, Romans 7:6, and Galatians 3:1-5. The only solution these verses offer regarding overcoming our sinful flesh (self-life) is to practice living by faith in order to access the power of the Holy Spirit. Trying to overcome the power of the flesh by self-effort is referred to as “walking by the law”. No matter how hard we try in our own strength, it doesn’t work!
D. Read Colossians 3:1-10, Ephesians 4:17-24, Galatians 5:24, Romans 8:12-13, and Romans 13:13-14. Only as we practice putting off the old flesh (self-life) with childlike trust—resting in Jesus as our life—can we begin to control our flesh. Colossians 3:3-4 implies that Jesus is to be our life. In Romans 8:13, we are instructed in the daily practice of putting off the self-life and putting on Jesus as our life—through childlike trust in Jesus to live through us.